Hi Mark,A good places to get and idea about NH rent is rent.com. There is also the Union Leader newspaper. For more info about the business climate try New Hampshire Business magazine http://millyardcommunications.com/index.php?src=. I made the move 18 months ago from sunny SoCal and find the climate issue to be way over stated. My wife and I came out for a scouting trip in 2007 and when we asked a local (non-FSP) about winter he looked my wife dead in the eyes and said "Lady, we have been living with snow for 400 years. We're prepared for it." Yeah it is going to snow in the winter but its not nearly as bad as the Sierra's unless you are way up North. We have found NH to be odd in that the state has a population of 1.2 M but the largest city is only about 100K. A lot of the population is spread out through the country side on multi acre parcels. IMHO this gives the natives a bit of a different perspective than many other places. I would definitely recommend spending the first first year or so as a renter semi close to one of the hubs. You will gain a lot of perspective in that first year.Thanks,GlenFaceBook: n.glen.dickey

We have found NH to be odd in that the state has a population of 1.2 M but the largest city is only about 100K. A lot of the population is spread out through the country side on multi acre parcels. IMHO this gives the natives a bit of a different perspective than many other places.

How is this odd? I did a little bit of research. In 22 states the largest city is over 10% of the state population. So in 28 it is not, most of them weren't even close to 10%. I think a more relevant issue is the total urban to rural population, which I don't know a quick and easy way to compare state-by-state. Or you could compare the relative populations of the 5 or 10 largest cities. Again, I don't know where to get that number, without spending a lot of time adding up the numbers manually.

In looking over my atlas, the 22 states where the biggest city has more than 10 % of state population are Alaska, Arizona, California (LA is just barely 10%), Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Perhaps you are from one of those states, or even have lived in several - that would explain why you find this odd about NH. There is a good mix of large and small population states here, eastern and western states, and I have having a hard time deducing a pattern from this list of states. There is a solid block of 5 adjoining western states, all admitted to the union close together - Colorado in 1876 and the rest from 1889-1890, though I doubt that means anything, unless it is a statement about the federal practices for admitting states in that historical period. 2 states from that time period are not included, Idaho and Washington, so even that pattern is not perfect. The western block states are all generally thought of as mostly rural states, except possibly Colorado. This perception is obviously incorrect if one is referring to population.

Though the large population states on the list tend to be the ones containing the largest cities in the country, this does not explain why Colorado is here but Texas is not.

You will notice Utah, where I live, is not in the list, with Salt Lake City as the largest city (probably the reason I thought to reply to the post). I think the biggest difference here is that the populations of the largest cities don't drop off as quickly as in NH, we have a much more dense and suburban region stretching north from SLC to Ogden and beyond, south to Provo and beyond. Outside this area, called the Wasatch Front, Utah is pretty rural too. We have a lot of people living on multi-acre parcels here too but of course there is a lot of government-"owned" land here.

I didn't mean this post as a nitpick - I just love geography and will jump on any excuse to do a comparison of the 50 states. I actually wanted to spend more time rambling and not making a point than what I just wrote, but I held back, hoping to have a few people actually read my reply.

Not a lot of folks from the pacific northwest in the Granite State, eh.

Huh? Maxx, there are plenty of folks from Washington and Oregon here in NH.

You dunno what you are talking about....

I'm from Washington, and have been here since 2004.

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If you are interested in putting together an IT-creative firm to help provide jobs for liberty folks in the future, send me a Personal Message."The Free State Project is an agreement among 20,000 pro-liberty activists to move to New Hampshire, where they will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property."

After more researching I am still aiming at Manchester or perhaps Concord initially. I am still planning on coming out in Autumn hopefully before the snow hits.

I have a question about the smaller towns. Can someone describe Goffstown, Claremont, Franklin and Berlin? Are these towns considered po-dunk or the back 40? Not sure what you all use to mean 'small crappy town way out of the way'.

I have some topo maps coming next week but among those towns which ones are above sea level and not likely to flood by a river?

I have a question about the smaller towns. Can someone describe Goffstown, Claremont, Franklin and Berlin? Are these towns considered po-dunk or the back 40? Not sure what you all use to mean 'small crappy town way out of the way'.

I have some topo maps coming next week but among those towns which ones are above sea level and not likely to flood by a river?

Thanks,Mark

Goffstown - near Manch, rural but upscale, heavily republican (currently has one FSP state rep, soon to have 2)Claremont - northwest and isolated... poor but slowly coming back... Franklin - north of Concord, has a tax cap, missed having 93 run by it, so most devel is happening in Tilton.Berlin - northern, suffering from mill closings and other economic downturns.

Podunk? Back40? all of these might be in that, but hey, most of NH is... the least would be Goffstown and Franklin.

River flooding... All depends on where... Every one of these is near a river.

Thanks Seth.Here is another question. How are the lattes's and the mocha's? Besides big places like Starbucks. Can you find a decent espresso in town?I have worked serving coffee before and since I come from the coffee capital of the US and I think I can add a thing or two. Well that and I love the stuff.

Can you find one? Yes. Do most places do it right? No.

The problem you face is the Dunkins factor. Many of the people here _like_ Dunkin Donuts coffee...

That said, I've wondered many times if a little coffee hut like the Northwest sprouts all over would do well here... there really aren't any here, the niche is filled with Dunkins drivethrus every few miles (or blocks)

Seth, it sounds like you have a basis to judge on what is a good latte and what is not. From what you say there is a market for espresso done well in the area. All over in Washington state coffee is like a religion. We have shack, coffee houses and of course Starbucks, Tully's and Seattle's Best. The Seattle's Best is now owned by Starbucks, and whatever corner there is no Starbucks (SB) is a Seattle's Best. No monopoly there! And don't get me wrong SB put out a good and consistent drink. But since they don't pour their own shots I believe they can never achieve 100%, just a 90-95% each time. And the good thing about being a legalized coffee dealer...the economy would have to be in the shits for people to stop buying.Thanks

It is not apparent where to sign. I have already become a member of that site. Is having a login there the same as being a member?

Thanks.

"Statement of Intent

I hereby state my solemn intent to move to the state of New Hampshire. Once there, I will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and property."

I am ready to sign the statement of intent. But I am unsure how to do it.It is not apparent where to sign. I have already become a member of that site. Is having a login there the same as being a member?

Yes, Dan and I just discussed this... and it's on the long list of changes the site still needs...

Thank you Seth and everyone else. I am now official. I pledge to move before the end of 2011. However I am aiming at spring 2011. I also intend to visit sometime in the Fall maybe mid-October. I will be scouting locations, employment and housing. Not to mention the people.

You could add a section that allows to enter a month instead of defaulting to the end of the year.

I also intend to provide some type of internet advertising. I may build a page to help spread the word. Also I am technically-oriented so if you all need help on your site feel free to ask. Though it does not seem like you all need the help, things work well around here.